Wednesday morning feel good stories

From North Versailles, Pennsylvania;

The county police department’s general investigation unit said the attempted home invasion occurred at 10:30 p.m. in the 300 block of Foster Road. North Versailles Police responded.

Multiple people attempted to force the door of the residence open, but the homeowner shot at them before they entered, police said. The homeowners were not harmed. The suspects fled the scene and were not identified, police said.

From Heppner, Oregon;

A wild chase after two alleged car thieves ended in arrest in a remote area of southern Morrow County Sunday. District Attorney Justin Nelson says it began when a neighbor saw a garage open and someone driving away in a Jeep belonging to the homeowner. He decided to follow the vehicle.

“The timing of this is, I would almost say, miraculous,” Nelson said of how the event played out. “The neighbor got behind the Jeep and that’s when the Jeep basically floored it. One of the occupants put a handgun out, and shot once. At that point, the neighbor stopped his chase, went back to another neighbor who happened to be a Morrow County Sheriff’s officer.”

They alerted dispatch. Meanwhile, the two alleged thieves stole gas and gas cans from another residence and attempted to spray paint the white Jeep Cherokee black. They ran out of paint and only managed to cover the hood, Nelson said.

At some point later, the vehicle ended up in a ravine and Nelson said the suspects were preparing to light the Jeep on fire.

“Another miraculous timing was where they crashed, it’s hard to explain how rural this area is,” he said. “But where they were at was near hunting grounds for Treo Ranches and right out by the ridge out there, there was a group of individuals from Yakima who were hunting.”

Nelson said the hunters, and the owner of the ranch grew suspicious of the two suspects’ actions.

“They went out, chased, and were able to surround the two suspects and kept them at gunpoint until law enforcement was able to arrive at the scene,” he said.

From San Jose, California;

The man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, [San Jose police Sgt. Enrique] Garcia said.

Garcia said a preliminary investigation revealed that the man was “attempting to commit a robbery inside the store” when a security guard opened fire and wounded him.

The security guard is cooperating with the investigation, Garcia said.

Additional details about the shooting were not immediately available late Monday night.

From Chicago, Illinois;

A teenage suspect was shot while attempting to carjack an off-duty Chicago police officer just blocks away from police headquarters on the South Side Monday night, according to police.

Police said the officer was sitting in their personal SUV around 7 p.m. in the Bronzeville neighborhood when two suspects approached either side of the vehicle.

When one tapped on the passenger side window, the other on the driver’s side announced a robbery, and the officer fired his weapon, striking the 18-year-old suspect in the abdomen. The suspect was transported in Northwestern and is in stable condition.

Authorities are looking for the second person.

Police said the officer is an 18-year veteran who lives in the area.

Sgt. Cindy Guerra, CPD News Affairs said it shows how “brazen” carjackings have become that one of their own officers would become a target.

From Springfield, Missouri;

When a customer raised a maroon towel to his face, police say a Springfield gas station manager grew suspicious.

The customer allegedly raised his shirt to show a gun a tucked in his waistband.

But police say the manager had already drawn his 9-millimeter handgun.

By the time officers arrived at the gas station at about 1 a.m. on Dec. 9, the would-be robber was lying face down on the ground while the manager held him at gunpoint, court documents say.

The incident is described in a probable cause statement used to charge Anthony Hetherington, 18, with first-degree attempted robbery.

According to the statement, the gun tucked into Hetherington’s waistband turned out to be a BB gun.

From Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;

Oscar and Mario Romero were in their AREA Oklahoma City rooms Monday morning when home surveillance video caught someone at the front door.

The person kicked in the door, and the Romeros and their parents heard the noise.

“They just came and scared the crap out of us,” Mario said. “They got him at gunpoint, asking him for money.”

The home-invader pistol-whipped Oscar, and a gunfight broke out. The home soon was riddled with bullets and shattered glass after a second burglar broke in through the back.

“I got out of my bed, grabbed my handgun,” Mario said.

Mario then exchanged gunfire with one of the burglars.

“His partner had a gun on my father, and that’s when I pointed a gun at him and he shot me,” Mario said. “I went to the floor, but I was able to return fire.”

He was shot in the pelvis, and the blood-stained floor and piles of broken glass throughout the home are a painful reminder of how deadly Monday’s break-in could have been.

“It’s getting too common, and people need to start arming themselves,” Mario said. “We would have been 6-feet under or seriously injured.”

Category: Feel Good Stories